The RDC-i700 is the next step in the evolution of the digital camara. While containing standard digital camera capabilities to capture still images, audio and video, it also provides a wide range of connection options for linking to the network and Internet functions such as FTP, email, web serving and automated image transfers. It is a high-end camera made for business applications. Ricoh is particularly targeting the mobile remote monitoring market that leverages its wireless communication options.

There are three driving factors in our everyday Internet lives: Connectivity, Connectivity and Connectivity. The RDC-i700 has tried to address this by providing two expansion slots that except either PC or CF cards. This allows the camera to connect to networks via a cell phone, CDMA modem, analog modem, Ethernet LAN or 802.11b. This allows the camera to stay connected and transfer images at home, in the office or in remote locations. Along with the connectivity options the camera provides image formats that are complementary for using on the web. The RDC-i700 supports JPEG and TIFF for still images files, WAV for audio files, and AVI for video files.

Of course, even with these bells and whistles, it always boils down to image quality. The 3.34 megapixel camera has a 3x optical zoom lens for print quality resolution up to 2048 x 1536 pixels. The camera can take macros as close as 1 cm. It can broadcast 320 x 240 images to a web browser at 10 frames per second.

The RDC-i700 has been somewhat ruggedized with a weatherproof housing and can be remotely controled through a web based interface. It can send and receive email, send images to fax machines, FTP images and create HTML files. It has a 3.5 inch touchscreen LCD to control the camera and also includes a browser to surf the web.

Pricing and Availability

The RDC-i700 is currently available for $1,299.

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